Orange Sherbet

I don’t know why sherbet is spelled like this but pronounced sherbert. I do know that it is different than sorbet because it has dairy in it – in this case, whole milk. I’ve made many different flavors of sorbet before (my favorites being raspberry and cranberry), but I’ve never tried to make sherbet. After buying the citrus juicer for my kitchen aid, I decided I needed to make some recipes with juice, and orange sherbet was the perfect thing to try! I love freshly squeezed orange juice, so combining it with sugar and milk and freezing it must taste good, right?!

This sherbet is not so similar to the stuff that I’ve eaten before. The color is bright orange (the “family pack” juicing oranges I bought from Fresh Direct squeezed some very neon juice) and the flavor is much more like a real orange than fake processed sugar that you can buy at the ice cream truck. Now I just have to make some vanilla bean ice cream to make creamsicles!

Orange Sherbet, adapted from Alton Brown:

Ingredients:

  • 7 ounces sugar (about a cup)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest
  • 2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice – I used 4 1/2 Murcott oranges
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups very cold milk

Directions:

1. Combine sugar, orange juice, zest, lemon juice, and vanilla in a blender (I used a bowl and an immersion blender) and blend until just combined, about a minute.

2. Whisk in the milk.

3. Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for at least one hour

4. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Serve soft or transfer to container and freeze until hard (this will take about 3 hours).

5. Serve with vanilla custard!